Species fact sheet:

African Elephant
A powerful symbol of nature, the worlds largest
land animal is still under threat

African elephant, Kenya. WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

2. The forest elephant (L. a. cyclotis) is smaller and darker

than
the
savannah
elephant,
has
straighter,
downward-pointing tusks, and lives in central and western
Africas equatorial forests. Forest elephants are more
generally threatened than the savannah sub-species due
to poaching and loss of forest habitat.

African elephants are the largest living land animals. Once

numbering millions across the African continent, their
populations had been decimated by the mid-1980s by
systematic poaching. The status of the species now varies
greatly across Africa. Some populations remain
endangered due to poaching for meat and ivory, habitat
loss, and conflict with humans, while others are secure and
expanding.

Elephant numbers vary greatly over the 37 range states;

some populations remain endangered, while others are
now secure. For example, most countries in West Africa
count their elephants in tens or hundreds, with animals
scattered in small blocks of isolated forest; probably only
three countries in this region have more than 1,000
animals. In contrast, elephant populations in southern
Africa are large and expanding, with some 300,000
elephants now roaming across the sub-region.

There are two sub-species of African

elephant:
1. The savannah elephant (L. a. africana), also known as
the bush elephant, is the largest elephant in the world, with
a maximum shoulder height of 4m and weighing up to
7,500kg. It is recognizable by its large outward-curving
tusks, and it lives throughout the grassy plains and
woodlands of the continent, particularly in eastern and
southern areas. Some populations in eastern and southern
Africa are expanding.

At a
glance:

Species:
Habitat:
Location:
Population:
Status:

African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands
and savannahs, Miombo woodlands, Acacia savannahs, and the
Namib-Karoo-Kaokoveld desert
Sub-Saharan Africa
470,000690,000
Vulnerable (IUCNThe World Conservation Union)

WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

What are the problems facing African

elephants?

agriculture and settlement. In the 20th century, elephant

range in West Africa is thought to have shrunk by nearly
95 per cent. In central Africa, large tracts of elephant
habitat are threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture and
by large commercial logging operations, while
throughout Africa less than 20 per cent of elephant range
is protected in parks and reserves. Many herds are now
confined to isolated protected areas. As a result, when
elephants try to follow traditional migration corridors
through what was once forest or savannah, they are
confronted with roads, fields, and villages. This inevitably
leads to conflict with local people.

Poaching and the ivory trade

The international demand for elephant tusk ivory was so
great in the 20th century that the African elephant came
close to extinction in parts of its range. A valuable
commodity, ivory is used in carvings, jewellery, name
seals, and other artefacts. As a result, between 1950 and
1985, ivory exports from Africa grew from 200 to 1,000
tonnes per annum, with most of the ivory taken from
poached elephants.

Further conflict arises in instances when elephant

populations grow and can no longer disperse naturally
across their former range. This can lead to local
overcrowding, as is the case in some parts of southern
Africa where increasing elephant populations cause
damage to their habitat.

In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
banned the international trade in ivory. Since then, only
very limited, well-controlled ivory sales have been
permitted from southern African countries with high
elephant numbers. However, there are still some thriving
but unregulated domestic ivory markets in a number of
countries, some of which have few elephants of their
own remaining. These domestic ivory markets fuel an
illegal international trade, leading to continued poaching.
A recent assessment of 22 ivory markets in Africa and
Asia estimated that more than 12,000 elephants are
needed each year to feed the demand of these markets.

Elephants have found farmers crops attractive as an

alternative food source. The cost for a farmer in this
instance is high: as elephants can eat up to 300kg of
food every day, even a small herd can destroy a farm
during one nights foraging. Additionally, livestock and
property is sometimes lost.
Human-elephant conflict can be fatal for both humans
and elephants. Many wildlife authorities shoot animals
that are harming humans and their property; local people
also sometimes kill elephants in retaliation for attacks. In
turn, elephants can also sometimes attack people when
their paths cross. Current projects in Africa involving
local communities are making headway in tackling
human-elephant conflict, but still require more funding
and research.

In central Africa, elephants are also poached for their

meat. Precise levels of this poaching are unclear, and
many governments have inadequate resources to
monitor or protect their elephants.

Habitat loss and conflict with humans

Conflict between humans and elephants has resulted
mostly from the loss of elephant habitat to human

African elephant, Kenya.

WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

Villagers use chili-soaked ropes to stop elephants from

destroying their crops, Kenya. WWF-Canon / Lyn Treloar

Left to right: Masai man; African elephant calves; Masai woman, Kenya. WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

What is WWF doing to reduce threats to

African elephants in the wild?

been very successful in mitigating elephant crop raids.

WWF is also helping local people benefit from community
wildlife management schemes.

African elephants are flagship species for their habitats

that is, charismatic representatives of the biodiversity
within the complex ecosystems they inhabit. Because
these large animals need a lot of space to survive, their
conservation will help maintain biological diversity and
ecological integrity over extensive areas and so help many
other species.

2. In Mozambique, WWF helped the government establish

Quirimbas National Park to conserve 6,000km2 of miombo
woodland and its resident elephants. WWF is training park
guards in elephant monitoring and anti-poaching
techniques, and is working with communities to mitigate
conflict with elephants.
3. In many African states, WWF is working with TRAFFIC
the international wildlife trade monitoring network
organized and operated as a joint programme by and
between WWF and IUCNThe World Conservation Union
to reduce the threat that illegal and illicit domestic ivory
markets pose to many populations of African elephants.
TRAFFIC also manages a global record of ivory seizures,
called ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) for CITES,
that helps to identify trade routes and countries of
particular importance in the illegal trade.

In 2000, WWF launched a new African Elephant

Programme. With 40 years of experience in elephant
conservation, WWFs current programme aims to:
develop and apply policies and legislation that create
an enabling environment for elephant conservation
conserve elephant habitat effectively in order to
increase range and connectivity between populations
reduce the illegal killing of elephants
reduce illegal trade in major elephant product markets
in Africa and Asia
reduce human-elephant conflict
improve the livelihoods of people living alongside
elephants through economic development activities
linked to wildlife conservation
increase public support for, and participation in,
elephant conservation.

4. Around the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya,

WWF is working with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the
Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology to study
human-elephant conflict, and to test methods for reducing
crop-raiding (see Focus Project box).
5. In Namibia, WWF is helping to establish Community
Based Natural Resource Management systems which
build wildlife conservation into the rural economy, linking
conservation with rural development through enterprises
such as wildlife tourism.

Given the breadth of elephant range, cross-border

cooperation between governments is vital, and WWF
seeks to encourage and foster this cooperation throughout
Africa.

6. In Central Africa, WWF and partners are working with

the governments of Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Gabon, and the Republic of Congo to develop two
transboundary protected areas, the Sangha Trinational and
the Trinational of Dja, Odzala, Minkebe (TRIDOM). These
cross-border complexes of forest protected areas cover
more than 180,000km2 and are home to some 55,000
forest elephants as well as other threatened species such
as western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees.

Examples of WWFs work to conserve

African elephants include:
1. In Tanzania, WWF has been working for many years to
conserve Selous Game Reserve, a protected area of some
45,000km2. Elephants in and around the reserve now
number more than 70,000. WWF is helping nearby farmers
keep elephants away from their crops through introducing
chilli- and oil-soaked rope barriers around their fields.
Elephants dont like spicy foods, so the rope barriers have

7. In Cte dIvoire, WWF has been working with the Ministry

3

of Environment to rehabilitate Tai National Park,

the single-largest undisturbed tropical rainforest
in West Africa, and a haven for forest elephants,
as well as chimpanzees.

"Watch tower" to see approaching elephants, Masai boy taking his herd back home, Kenya.
Kenya. WWF-Canon / Ste Drayton
WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey

Focus Project: The TransMara, Kenya

The grasslands and forests of the TransMaraa 2,900km2
area of rolling hills in southwestern Kenyaborder the
Masai Mara National Reserve, world famous for its
abundant wildlife including lions, zebras, hippos, giraffes,
and African elephants.
Since 1979, the human population in the area has grown
from 70,201 to 168,721. As a result of burgeoning human
populations and limited space, the TransMara has become
a conflict zone for elephants and local people.
WWF has been working with a team from the Durrell
Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of
Kent, since 2001 to measure, monitor, and reduce human
conflict with elephants in this region. The team has enjoyed
ground-breaking success in determining new methods to
keep elephants away from crops.
In three sites, project staff monitor levels of conflict with
elephants and test different methods to deter them. In a
low-conflict area (Lolgorien), farmers rotate guard duty from
purpose-built platforms in trees or watchtowers, using
torches and tin drums to scare elephants away.
In a medium-conflict area (Laila), community guard duty is
still undertaken, in conjunction with chill- and/or oil-covered
fences similar to the chilli ropes with which farmers have
had such success in Mozambique. The guards in Laila also
clear grass on either side of the chilli- and oil-fences so that
fires may be set and filled with chilli, and cowbells are hung
from the fence as an early-warning system in case
elephants challenge the fence line.
In a high-conflict area (Emarti), strong barriers in gullies
between forests and farms are being tried in addition to the
deterrents at Lolgorien and Laila. Kenya Wildlife Service
personnel are also involved at this site, in patrolling the area

perimeter by car. Elephants are chased away with

thunder-flashes and other noises.
In addition to these trials, WWF and its partners are also
training local people to record and report elephant activity,
conflict with humans, and any intervention which alleviates
the conflictsuch as chilli ropes and early warning systems.
As a result, changes in elephant behaviour can be mapped.
WWF and DICE are also working with villagers to develop
land use plans that ensure fields are planted in blocks and
that crops planted nearer the forest are not as attractive to
elephants. At the same time, the project is aiming to
convince farmers to continue and improve their
cattle-farming rather than focusing on crops, to further
reduce elephant interest in farms and human settlements.
This innovative project has led to a reduction in incidents of
conflict, and in many instances farmers have been able to
harvest their crops unhindered by elephants. Communities
and conservationists are coming to a better understanding
of how elephants respond to humans and to conflict
resolution. As a result, there appears to be an increasing
readiness for local people to address elephant problems
more quickly and without violence.
The TransMara is a vitally important training ground for
learning about human-elephant conflict, how to manage it,
and how to promote harmony between humans and
elephants in shared environments. The knowledge
developed here will assist elephant populations and people
throughout other elephant habitats.
The TransMara is part of the East African Acacia Savannahs
Ecoregion one of WWFs Global 200 Ecoregions,
biologically outstanding habitats where WWF concentrates
its efforts.

Find out more...

This fact sheet is designed to give a broad overview of some of the threats faced by African elephants, and to give examples of
WWF and TRAFFIC's work and solutions on the ground. For more detailed information on species, WWF, TRAFFIC, and the work
we do, please visit www.panda.org/species and www.traffic.org

Take action...

Visit www.passport.panda.org to find out how you can take action to help protect this and other species and fragile environments.

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Text March 2007 WWF. All rights reserved. 1986 Panda symbol WWF. WWF Registered Trademark owner. Images WWF-Canon Photo Database.

8. In South Africa, WWF supported partner

agencies in protecting an elephant migration
corridor between Tembe Elephant Park and
Maputo Special Reserve in Mozambique. The
project fenced part of the the so-called Futi
corridor and provided water sources for local
people to mitigate conflict and facilitate natural
elephant movements.